REDA
REDA a large carriage with four wheels (Isid. 20.12; Cod.
Theod. 8.5, 8, where it is
[p. 2.540]distinguished from a
birota): used as a travelling carriage
(
Cic. pro Mil. 10, 28; 20,
54;
ad At. 5.17; Hor.
Sat. 1.5, 86, 2.6, 42; Helv. Cinna ap.
Gel.
19.13). It is clear from the above passages that it was the
carriage commonly used by the Romans who could afford it for rapid
travelling, and that it held several persons: probably it had several seats
like a
char-à--bancs: it also carried
luggage (
Juv. 3.10;
Mart.
3.47; Cod. Theod.
l.c.). Like the
COVINUS and
ESSEDUM it was of Gallic origin
(
Quint. Inst. 1.5.68;
Caes. Gal. 1.51): but it had been completely
adopted by the Romans and possibly modified in shape. It probably had a
cover. It was drawn by two horses usually (or mules, Varr.
R.
R. 3.17), but sometimes by four horses for greater speed. Venantius
Fortunatus writes in the 6th century--
Curriculi genus est, memorat quod Gallia redam,
Molliter incedens orbita sulcat humum,
Exsiliens duplici bijugo volat axe citato, Atque movet rapidas juncta
quadriga rotas.
There were also redae as hired carriages (
redae
meritoriae,
Suet. Jul. 57); and in the later Empire as
government stage-coaches (
fiscalis reda, Sulp.
Sever.
Dial. 2.4): Cod. Theod.
l.c.
speaks of these as carrying 1000 lbs. of goods.
Epiredia were probably traces, though the Schol. on
Juv. 8.66 calls them “ornamenta
redarum.” Quintil.
l.c. mentions the word as
a mixture of two languages, Greek and Gallic; Professor Mayor (
ad loc.) however remarks that
ρέδα, ραιδίον occur in late Greek (e.g.
Apocal. 18.13), and this word may of course have been
compounded after it became a Greek word and the compound borrowed by the
Romans. (Marquardt,
Privatl. 733; Becker-Göll,
Gallus, 3.19; Baumeister,
Denkm. 2082.)
[
W.S] [
G.E.M]
